Easily one of the most evocative features in the dark unaided-eye sky is the so-called Double Cluster in Perseus. I have seen them from the grounds of Hodges Gardens State Park, and they are not soon forgotten. At magnitude 5.3 and 4.4 respectively, a truly dark sky is needed to see both together.

The PDC is well-placed in the northeast after dark--light pollution not withstanding. Tonight until Thursday night may be prime for this nice sight. I don't know if it can be seen from HRPO with a binocular but I will test that tonight.

I couldn't test last night as I was taking SQM measurements. But around 11pm I took out one of the 10x Bushnells, and all I can say is the Baton Rouge light dome does a number on this beauty. It was only at thirty degrees; binocular acquisition was extremely difficult to impossible. Following the trail of relatively bright Perseus stars upward was easier than following Cassiopeia's aim downward. I knew I was seeing the clusters--there was 9 Persei to the right--but it was a very washed-out view. It would be informative if another BRAS member tried within the next couple of nights from a different location in the area. Would getting the light dome just a little out of the way make a big difference?

Okay, I've changed my mind. Using Cassiopeia's stars is easy, too! Just go from Gamma Cassiopeiae (middle star of the "W", B-class, magnitude 2.1) to Ruchbach (mag 2.6). Then staying at that same angle go twice the distance further along, and there is the Double Cluster. I did it that way Wednesday night at about 10pm. I'll say it again, it sure is washed out in the northern exposure!

Below are the times during which the PDC culminates at sixty-three degrees in the Baton Rouge sky...28 August = 4:59am1 September = 4:43am5 September = 4:27am9 September = 4:12am13 September = 3:56am17 September = 3:40am21 September = 3:24am25 September = 3:09am29 September = 2:53am3 October = 2:37am7 October = 2:21am11 October = 2:06am15 October = 1:50am19 October = 1:34am23 October = 1:19am27 October = 1:03am31 October = 12:47amTimes above are Daylight. Times below are Standard.4 November = 11:27pm8 November = 11:12pm12 November = 10:56pm16 November = 10:40pm20 November = 10:25pm24 November = 10:09pm28 November = 9:53pm2 December = 9:37pm6 December = 9:22pm10 December = 9:06pm14 December = 8:50pm18 December = 8:34pm22 December = 8:19pm26 December = 8:03pm30 December = 7:47pm3 January = 7:32pm7 January = 7:16pm11 January = 7:00pm

On 3 December at 7:10pm I hunted down the PDC with a Bushnell 10x. There's no mistaking the locale--the nearby squashed ring of stars is unmistakable. Even the clusters themselves were obvious in that sky.

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